The Birth of Modern Handhelds

Game developer Epyx (Impossible Mission, California Games) was already planning its own handheld, called Handy, in 1986. This visionary device combined controls from the Game & Watch series with interchangeable cartridges and a screen, establishing the basic form of the portable console still familiar today. Handy was delayed by three years before finally appearing as the Atari Lynx, by which time the Game Boy had already begun its unprecedented success.

Nintendo’s handheld is technically weaker, but cheaper, and sells in unprecedented dimensions. A variety of imitators try to attach themselves to this success, but apart from Segas Game Gear and NEC’s Turbo Express, they are obscure free-riders.